ÖVP shoots against SPÖ: Vienna in crisis before new elections!

ÖVP shoots against SPÖ: Vienna in crisis before new elections!

Vienna's mayor Michael Ludwig has announced that the local council and district council elections will be brought forward to April 27th. This comes amid an intense political exchange between the SPÖ and the ÖVP. Ludwig emphasized that the decision to hold new elections serves the goal of appointing a new city government before the summer. This is the first time that an FPÖ politician could move into the Federal Chancellor's seat, which further stirs up the political landscape in Austria.

The state party chairman of the Vienna ÖVP, Karl Mahrer, reacted angrily and described the early elections as “premature and incomprehensible”. He sees this as a sign of party political calculation to save the existing “standstill coalition” made up of SPÖ and NEOS. Mahrer accused the city government of having delivered a “devastating” result in the areas of education and security. He particularly criticized the increasing gang crime and the lack of progress on important infrastructure projects, which the ÖVP also finds untenable MSN reported.

Criticism of the previous city government

The Vienna ÖVP sees itself well prepared for the election campaign and is calling for a “turnaround”, which, according to Mahrer, can only be achieved with the support of the ÖVP. Wölbitsch, the ÖVP club chairman, spoke of “hypocrisy” in the SPÖ’s actions and emphasized that the high social benefits in the city were no longer sustainable, which had made Vienna a “social and crime magnet”. Mahrer emphasized that the current political conditions can no longer be tolerated and called for extensive changes in the areas of education and integration.